2023/24 Off Season

[idunno]

There's bugger all here Spacey..been trying Rebel Sports..Sterling Sport etc for months.
Plenty of cheap imitations but you have to go up 3 sizes and you can't wash them or wear in the rain..
Pretty pathetic really.

Same Kiwis jerseys.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Christian Tuipolotu off to the Dragons immediately

Campbell Graham out for 6 months

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Campbell Graham out for 6 months

Ouch, thats rough... related to that sternum problem he carried last year?

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Ouch, thats rough... related to that sternum problem he carried last year?

Yep, has to have surgery on it. Probably should have done it last year

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Joseph Manu has made it reasonably clear that he will be off to French rugby next year, Roosters can’t afford him and he won’t play against the Roosters

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Wow.. so next year they’ll be without Suaalii, possibly Manu and maybe even Tupou? Some big holes to fill

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Wow.. so next year they’ll be without Suaalii, possibly Manu and maybe even Tupou? Some big holes to fill

Uncle Nick will be getting the chequebook out

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Uncle Nick will be getting the chequebook out

Yea man for sure. And thinking about it some more, that’s their fullback succession plan gone as well isn’t it.

Daughter or no daughter, Broncs better lock down Reece soon. Uncle Nick is on the hunt

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Yea man for sure. And thinking about it some more, that’s their fullback succession plan gone as well isn’t it.

Daughter or no daughter, Broncs better lock down Reece soon. Uncle Nick is on the hunt

Haha I bet they wish they’d made a play for Roger last year now. Probably the only other club that could’ve got him

 

[Matua]

Joseph Manu has made it reasonably clear that he will be off to French rugby next year, Roosters can’t afford him and he won’t play against the Roosters

Kind of annoyed that he's not going to try out for the ABs, if we're going to lose him for the Kiwis I'd have liked to have seen him have a shot for the ABs.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Kind of annoyed that he's not going to try out for the ABs, if we're going to lose him for the Kiwis I'd have liked to have seen him have a shot for the ABs.

Yea was thinking that too.

But if the French deal is say, 2 years max, that gives him scope to come home (if he wants) to give the RWC squad a crack.

TBH, that'd probably be the best outcome for NZR anyway - let the French club take all the initial risk and just keep an eye on how he goes.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Kind of annoyed that he's not going to try out for the ABs, if we're going to lose him for the Kiwis I'd have liked to have seen him have a shot for the ABs.

Yeah, it sucks to see a guy in his prime go off to club rugby in France, knowing we may never see him in an international side. They may change the eligibility rules, but I doubt it. So we'll never really know how good Joey Manu is at rugby union.

The commodification of sport really hits hard sometimes. The most money in union is to be made in competitions (Europe/Japan) where us down here barely see them, and if you're an ABs supporter you know that player can't represent their country. Similar situation now exists in cricket, and even golf has LIV and two groups of top-ranked players not competing against each other except in majors. We can be blessed in league that 99.9% of the best players play week-in, week-out in the NRL - even if we don't get the product we want in Tests.

I also don't blame Manu for maximising his financial situation, and I do admire him that he refused to play against the Roosters.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Early days obviously but anyone have thoughts on where he'd play in union? I have no idea where he played as a youngster.

12/13 seems a natural fit at some stage, but whether he's eased in via the wing...?

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Reynolds and Carrigan got into a public altercation after a night on the turps over the weekend

A few clubs opened their year with hit outs

Brisbane 26 Wynumn Manly 16
Dolphins 58 CQ Capras 6
Manly 68 Souths 6

 

[JJ]

Re Manu at some stage NZ rugby has to address what is becoming an untenable stance

re Broncos lmao

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Re Manu at some stage NZ rugby has to address what is becoming an untenable stance

Do you mean players moving to Europe/Japan? I dunno if its currently that big a problem TBH. Other than Mounga and Frizel, not sure who else Robertson would miss (that isnt already coming back before the test season starts anyway).

 

[JJ]

Do you mean players moving to Europe/Japan? I dunno if its currently that big a problem TBH. Other than Mounga and Frizel, not sure who else Robertson would miss (that isnt already coming back before the test season starts anyway).

I mean not selecting them - I think there should be preference for players here, but why would you not pick the best players - especially those playing in UK and France where the standard is very high... Japan you'd have to evaluate more closely

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

I mean not selecting them - I think there should be preference for players here, but why would you not pick the best players - especially those playing in UK and France where the standard is very high... Japan you'd have to evaluate more closely

Yep I get what you’re saying but again, other than Mounga and Frizel, I’m struggling to think of any overseas based players who are any better than those based at home?

The down side to opening up eligibility is it’ll completely gut SR which is already on its knees. If we’re going to pay that price it should only be because the alternative is worse but IMO we’re still coping pretty well for now.

 

[JJ]

Yep I get what you’re saying but again, other than Mounga and Frizel, I’m struggling to think of any overseas based players who are any better than those based at home?

The down side to opening up eligibility is it’ll completely gut SR which is already on its knees. If we’re going to pay that price it should only be because the alternative is worse but IMO we’re still coping pretty well for now.

Given the money around I expect it’ll change though…. But we’ll see

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Given the money around I expect it’ll change though…. But we’ll see

Yea fair enough, we may eventually have no choice. And some, like the players, want to see it sooner rather than later but I hope we don't rush because I honestly don't think we need to.

There were a lot of doomsayers a few years ago when Piutau bailed for massive money in England, but since then the English financial model has shown to be completely unsustainable. Three clubs were booted from the prem due to their finances, the ones remaining all made losses last FY, and more than half of those are technically insolvent.

Not suggesting France or Japan will go the same way, but it does show the value of taking a measured approach.